If you've ever walked more than two blocks in New York, you’ve probably stumbled upon an decrepit building or two, one whose façade recalls ancient Greece or mighty Rome, juxtaposed against a background of modernity.

New York-based artist Michael Vahrenwald took notice of this too. During the past several years, he has been traveling around New York and Detroit photographing every once-powerful bank building that has since languished for his new project entitled “The People’s Trust.” Vahrenwald captures these dilapidated buildings in sympathetic frames, as if they, like many of us, had been the victims of hard financial times.

Some of Varhrenwald’s portraits may evoke feelings of nostalgia in the viewers, as they did for him: "I see the banks as being similar to monuments from a time that many have chosen to forget," he told the Huffington Post. "They are anachronistic to the way we live, yet still very much a part of our history and memories."